Sterling L2A3 Submachinegun [Submachine Gun]:

The Sterling L2A3 submachinegun is the military version of the Mark 4 Sterling submachinegun.
The weapon is chambed in 9 mm. The general submachinegun design has been in service since
the early 1950s. The L2A1 was adopted by the British Army in 1953 and the L2A2 adopted by the
British Army in 1955. The L2A3 came into British Army service in 1956. Sterling produced a
number of semi-automatic versions of the submachinegun that were and are used by police and
security forces around the world. There is a silenced version of the submachinegun designated
L3A4.

The submachinegun was produced in the United Kingdom between 1953 and 1988. The weapon was
manufactured at the Sterling Armament Company at Dagenham and at the Royal Ordnance Factory
at Fazackerley. In Canada, a similar model was produced under license by the Canadian Arsenals
Limited under the designation 9 mm C1 Sub-Machine Gun. In India, another licenced weapon based
on the L2A2 is still produced under the designation Sub-Machine Gun Carbine 9mm 1A1. The weapon
is manufactured at Indian Ordnance Factories, Kanphur.

The weapon has severed in approximately 90 countries in different numbers. Main purchasers have
been Canada (under license), Ghana, India (under license), Libya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Tunisia,
and some Arabian Gulf states. The L2A3 is no longer in service with the UK armed forces although the
silenced version L3A4 is held as reserve weapon by the British army.

The submachinegun has a folding metal stock and the gun may be fired from either the shoulder with
the stock extended, or from the hip with the stock folded under the barrel. The submachinegun is
blowback operated and has a 34 round magazine which is mounted on the left side of the gun not
underneath like most submachinegun design.